Walls of Earth and Stone Quotes

“A full millennium had passed, the scarred hands of men made strong by toil. The acclimation of the minds of Brek to the concerns of stone construction was in evidence in all quarters, their mastery of masonry proved with but a glance. In the thirty generations that had passed, building had become their pride, the strong shoulders and bronzed skin bought in the quarry a mark of highest honor.
"Yet owing to the strange inborn drive possessed by the Trathnona, the men rose to their task without question. So it was that empty quarry, long stripped of stone, gave way to crowded field, the chisel abandoned to the work of plow and scythe.
"From that time to the moment of my arrival--a period of more than four thousand years--the Trathnona had lived without fear of domination, knowing as they did the safety and promise of independence granted by virtue of devotion and self-sacrifice. And through famine, plague, and wars of foreign aggression, the willingness of individuals to bend to the needs of all had made of them an unbreakable tribe, sterner even than the stone of their highest pride.”
― Nathaniel Firmath, Walls of Earth and Stone

“My heart has grown strong, and I will look out for you, if you will look out for me. Life is going to be hard for both of us now, and I will need to grow hard with it. Soon I may seem like a different person, but I will always love you. My heart is locked away - but just for you, I've made a key.”
― Nathaniel Firmath, Walls of Earth and Stone